Wednesday October 21, 2009, 4:40 am
Animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi has slammed the government’s proposal to construct a Rs. 900 crore Neutrino Observatory in Mudumalai sanctuary in Tamil Nadu, saying it would destroy the region’s flora and fauna.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP voiced concern over the location of the science project on the buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, which, she said, was a “prime elephant and tiger habitat.”

Ms. Maneka, who had been recently nominated as the member of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), told PTI that the “project is an ill-conceived idea just to keep some of the retired scientists busy.”

But those backing the project are not looking at the environmental destruction it would cause in the long-term, she added.

The NTCA, in its recent meeting chaired by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, had strongly opposed the INO, planned to be built a km under the surface and to be funded by the Department of Atomic Energy, the Department of Science and Technology and the UGC.

“NTCA member secretary Ramesh Gopal will soon visit the proposed site which is home to 15 threatened species. But we would ensure that it does not come up at whatever cost,” she said.

After surveying the impact of the project on the wildlife in the region, Mr. Gopal will submit the report to the ministry.

Neutrinos are one of the fundamental particles which make up the universe. Essential geographical requirements to set up a neutrino observatory are a 360 degree curve, rock-mass for at least a km, mountain feature which is at least a km or km and a half tall, little or no gorge area among others — one of the reasons why the Nilgiris was chosen.

More than 50 scientists from about 15 institutes and universities have promoted the INO believing that neutrinos hold the key to several important and fundamental questions on the origin of the universe and energy production in stars.

Tiger expert, Belinda Wright, said the tunnel portal is less than one km from the boundary of the Mudumalai Critical Tiger Habitat.

“The proposed site is within the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve — the first Biosphere Reserve in India and of global importance. As per the United Nations guidelines, research initiatives that feed conservation are welcome. But the INO research has no bearing on conservation,” she said

Wednesday October 21, 2009, 1:25 pm

With the country’s ambitious Rs 900-crore India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project in Tamil Nadu pitching environmentalists and scientists on opposite sides of the fence, the Centre has decided to exercise caution.

In the face of fierce opposition from the environmentalist and animal rights activists, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has directed National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) member secretary Rajesh Gopal to visit the site and submit a detailed report on the impact the project would have on the environmentally sensitive region.

The INO project is proposed at Singara in the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve, which also falls within the proposed buffer zone of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

Sources said during the NTCA meeting recently, Ramesh agreed for an on-the-spot inspection despite his earlier assertion that Singara was the best site for the INO project. In fact, Ramesh was supposed to visit the site himself this month but held it back preferring to wait for Gopal’s report first.

Neutrinos are sub-atomic particles that scientists believe hold the key to understanding the origin of the universe and energy production in stars. Scientists from 25 universities and scientific research institutions are backing the project claiming it to be vital to India’s scientific development. But a number of environmentalists are opposing it on the ground that it will inflict an irreparable damage to the biosphere reserve, home to over a fifth of India’s vertebrates and flowering plants and the tiger reserve, which, incidentally, the Tamil Nadu Government is planning to expand.

The latest opposition to the INO project has come from animal rights activist Maneka Gandhi, who has termed it as an “ill-conceived idea just to keep some retired scientists busy”. The Bombay Natural History Society has also advised the Ministry against going ahead with the project at the proposed site.

“While I’m completely in favour of scientific pursuits, I fear the INO project proposed near the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve has the potential to cause huge collateral damage to the area during the many years of its construction,” Shekar Dattatri, internationally-acclaimed wildlife filmmaker and an opponent of the project, told The Pioneer.

Environmentalists have been insisting that the INO project be shifted to an alternate site. Dattatri also said going by India’s past track record he wasn’t convinced that any safeguards laid down will be followed diligently. “Once the project is turned over to contractors, I fear that every guideline will be flouted and nobody will be accountable,” he maintained.

Those like the former joint director of the Chennai-based Institute of Mathematical Sciences, G Rajasekaran, who are all for the unique basic science collaboration in the country, however, contend that the Nilgiri mountains are the best suitable site for the underground laboratory "because of the stability and safety of the Nilgiri rock and since it will be set up 1.3 km below the peak.”

Approved for funding by the Department of Atomic Energy and Science and Technology, INO as a mega-science project has been included under the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. A cavern (120m x 25m x 30m) will be dug under Nilgiri Hills at 1.3 km below the Glenmorgan peak and accessed through a horizontal tunnel of more than 2 km in length. A gigantic magnetised detector weighing 50,000 tonnes will be constructed inside this cavern and used to detect and study the neutrinos.

Since the site for INO is guided mainly by rock quality, the monolithic hard charnockite rock of Nilgiris was found to best suited. Aspects like connectivity, water and power availability of the site were also considered.

Environmentalists oppose it saying it will “sacrifice the ecological integrity of Mudumalai,” one of India’s finest tiger habitats and adversely impact the rich biodiversity of Nilgiris besides disturbing the critical link between the Eastern and Western Ghats.

Scientists back it for the cause of India’s scientific development and since India has been a pioneer in neutrino physics as well as to keep it in the race with the US and China. The first detection of cosmic ray produced neutrinos was made in Kolar Gold Fields experiment in 1965. But with the KGF mines closed, the KGF laboratory, too, was shut down in the 1990s.